After finishing my first year at university, I returned to my hometown for the summer. It had been a year of intense challenges, and I was almost immediately faced with another one… I needed to get a job. After a month of applying, being rejected, and applying for some more, I finally got an interview. I showed up to Pita Pit with my resume and a carefully prepared script in mind… only to have all of that go out the window when my interviewer swore within the first five minutes. I quickly realized this would be unlike any environment I had worked in before. It’s been over a year since that interview, and I still don the official Pita Pit baseball cap every week. So, here are three things I’ve learned since then:
Lesson #1: Just Show Up
Before working in food service, I was guilty of assuming it was as easy as it looked. And I was humbled. Fast. Throughout my first few months, I experienced many moments that made me (and probably my coworkers) question my intelligence. It turns out there are a hundred different wrong ways to do almost anything, and I found most of them.
It did not take long for me to start feeling frustrated. I thought that maybe this job just wasn’t for me. There was a temptation to quit, but I needed the paycheck, so I kept showing up, making mistakes, and learning from them. After a while, it felt good — not just to see a paycheck in my bank account every other week — but also to do something that I was once terrible. I started to know my regular customers’ orders, I felt more respected by the people around me, and I respected myself more as well.
Had I quit, I would have missed the opportunity to build relationships and skills that have made me a better, more confident version of myself. While there are times when it is necessary to walk away from something that isn’t working, there are also times when it is best to rise to the challenge and tough it out. Now, I won’t walk away from anything until I’m absolutely certain I’ve given it my best shot.
Lesson #2: There is no Such Thing as “Unskilled Labour”
Most food service jobs may look easy, but that’s because skilled workers are typically performing them. Unless you’ve cried in a walk-in-freezer at some point in your life, it can be difficult to grasp the amount of factors that go into a successful service.
It is easy to get overwhelmed by a line of customers out the door, and this is only made worse by understaffing, technical difficulties, a supply chain problem, impatient customers, unexpected large orders and more, all of which are common. It takes a capable team to navigate these challenges as they come with a cool head and a (usually forced) smile. Teamwork, communication, timing, speed, precision and sound judgment are just some of the skills essential to getting through a rush without issue.
The cultural tendency to look down upon service jobs and the skills required to do them successfully reflects the classism and elitism ingrained in an industry that profits from underappreciating its workers, not the workers themselves. A society cannot simultaneously demand and degrade a service. While many enjoy fast food in the middle of the workday, it is not uncommon for those same people to pay no appreciation to those who make that possible. I know many service workers who could handle academia and many academics who could not handle food service.
Lesson #3: There is Nothing More Important Than People
Working in a thankless industry makes it easy to forget why the job is important. At the end of the day, I don’t enjoy my job because rolling pitas is my one true passion in life. I enjoy it for the impact it makes, however small.
It can be easy to forget that there is intrinsic value to performing a service well when it seems inconsequential either way. I am paid regardless of whether I do well, and any failures are unlikely to ruin lives the way they would if I were a doctor or civil engineer. Still, there is something special about the look on someone’s face when you remember their order or how a young kid’s face lights up when you hand them the cookie instead of their parents.
While appreciation is certainly not a replacement for monetary compensation, being a small part of people’s day feels good. People need to eat lunch, and I like to think my service makes that at least slightly more enjoyable. Who are we, if not the impact we make on others?
While working in food service certainly has its downsides, and I am very fortunate to work for people who make my job easier, I hope this shines a light on some of the industry’s better parts. An entire education cannot occur in the classroom, and I owe much of mine to time spent behind the counter at Pita Pit.